The mindful teacher

I sometimes have a fantasy that I will be exiled to a deserted island, and that I can only take with me a handful of books. What would I choose?.... Fun to think about... Of course, with e-readers and smart phones able to hold thousands of titles, that prospect is a bit less problematic... But, if I ever do pare down my books, this one, "The Well-Balanced Teacher", by Mike Anderson, would make the cut. (ASCD books, 2010). I picked it up a few  years ago, and liked it so much that I ordered several more copies for our staff. I found myself again  trotting it out this past week, reading over the highlighted pages. Although I've been in the classroom 20 years, workshop week is always a challenging time for me emotionally. Rising expectations and digital complexity are simply facts for most teachers today. And, we are so much more sophisticated and informed about so many issues, that our mental plates are nearly always overflowing. (Which reminds me about a teacher I once h

I recently received an email from science teacher Kate Olsen, about her work with classroom mindfulness, and she agreed to let me post it here.... "....I just wanted to share with you that I presented to my graduate studies class at St. Mary's this week on mindfulness in the classroom. It went really well and they were all very interested in the idea. We even checked out Calm.com together as a class :) The evidence of the positive impacts keeps building and I'm looking forward to continuing to incorporate it this year despite the schedule changes."

Drawing by Tim  Iverson  The brain and stress Do you know your brain anatomy? Here's a sketch I made a few years ago in my notebook, inspired by the MindUp work of the  Hawn foundation. While understanding anatomy isn't crucial for practicing mindfulness, I do think it's helpful and fun to learn about how the brain functions in the fight-or-flight mode. It's especially relevant in our classrooms where we can show how mindfulness can impact brain functioning. Studies have even shown that mindfulness practice can have a positive effect on the amygdala, the core of our "alarm" response. Why wouldn't we want students to understand how their brains work?

This is a guest post from Tara Hupton This past summer I took a six week online course called Introduction to Mindfulness. This course gave me insight into just how beneficial and necessary mindfulness is in the current society of technology and instant gratification.  I was challenged to slow down and enjoy the little things (and the big things) in everyday life while giving me tools to do so.  It also taught me how to take breaks from the constant stress, anxiety, worry, planning, thinking, etc., that I felt regularly.  Going into the school year I feel better equipped to juggle all the balls thrown at us a teachers.  I will still feel stress, but I am more confident in my ability to effectively manage it.  I plan to pass along much of what I have learned and many of the resources with my own children and my students.  In fact, I bought a couple of books on the topic for my kids.  I can share the titles with anyone who is interested.  I will continue to practice mindfulness in the

This weekend I was fortunate to attend a day long workshop in St. Paul, on "Non-violent communication." The title of the workshop comes from  Marshall Rosenberg,  author of a book by the same title. In a nutshell, his program  outlines a series of steps to help create a more compassionate and mindful mode of communication. The steps include, observing carefully; being aware of feelings that underlie our communications; being aware of needs and wants that are trying to find expression; and differentiating between demands and requests. Although this is very difficult work, it seems vital for anyone in education to do some reflection on their communication, and this book is a great place to start. For more on this book, check it out here:  "Non-violent communication"  by Marshall Rosenberg.

"Contemplative Teacher"  summer class - This summer I took a "Contemplative Teacher Workshop"  led by Missy Johnson at Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul. Missy is a Latin teacher at Nova, and finished her Master's degree in Contemplative Education from Naropa University in  Colorado. This was the "level" 2 class, building on concepts and skills we worked on last summer. It was a wonderful chance to connect with other teachers in the area, and do some sharing and  reflection. We also ended each session with some mindful sitting and walking practice. "Contemplative Education" is a growing field within education that highlights the inner world of students and teachers, through practices like meditation, writing, communication, theater, and the arts.  I highly recommend this workshop to any teacher interested in the areas of mindfulness  or contemplative education.